You're right - it's hard to decipher those signatures. You might try taking a clear, close up photograph of just the signature and trying a google search for the image. It worked for a friend of mine who was trying to identify an artist on a painting she owned.

It appears that PURCELL might be the last name in this one.

And the first name on this could be LUCIA or LUCIEN or LUCIANO; last name could be PASS___?

There are websites and apps devoted to just such a search. Looks roughly like Lucien Pair, but I don't even know if that's a valid artist's name.

They both look like Powell to me :)

The app is called Smartify.

Deco and Fori are both right - Lucien Powell it is, hs was in D.C. the same time my great grandparents lived there. Awesome!!!

So maybe your grandparents actually knew the artist!

Found these:

Lucien Pissarro (1863–1944), English painter and etcher

Louisa Puller (1884–1963), English painter and wartime artist

Liubov Popova (1889–1924), Russian painter and designer

Louis Pohl (1915–1999), American painter, illustrator and art teache

on this page

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_painters_by_name_beginning_with_%22P%22

If you take the out of the frames, you might find something on the back.

Be careful. My client had a trove of paintings that were worth $$$$$$ but a few had been repaired and the value of the paintings plummeted. The guy buying them took out a black light and all the new paint on the canvas glowed in the dark.

I suggest reaching out to your local art museum to see if their paintings conservator might provide both condition and artist info.

They appear to be water colors and the signature appears to be Lucien Powell....and the subject matter is the type he is known to do.
Now the question is are they original watercolors or prints? If original they have the potential to be worth a couple of thousand or more, each. If prints, less than $100.
and well restored art is always worth more than a damaged piece. Just be sure to have the restoration done well and not by a "patch artist".
Take them to a museum or auction house to see what they say.

Thanks for the feedback:)

i know they they are originals, one is an oil that at this point I’m just going to have cleaned as it hung in my grandparents house where they smoked from the 60s to the 80s.

The water color is under glas, which is cracked. I was thinking of having that replaced and the frame repaired where it is chipped but otherwise leaving the matte and painting alone. The back of this one has wood in it so it feels like a shame to undo that after 100 years.

Overall I just wanted to make sure I wasn’t wasting money getting them repaired; it’s going to be a little while before I can drop them off at the conservators due to my work schedule and my curiosity got the better of me :)

https://westlakeconservators.com

Get a glass with UV protection.

Wait until you have a cost from the conservator before you decide if it is worth it to have them restored or simply reframed. My step-daughter worked in that business although she did not directly do restoration. Her shop was in Santa Fe which is expensive but you should expect to spend several thousand to have it conserved and reframed.

Get that Matte replaced also! The one that’s on there is not acid free which is why it is discoloring and will also damage your watercolor!

Also make sure any new backing board is acid free! It looks as if the watercolor has paper has changed color over time which is common in older paintings. This can be restored and then reframed with proper conservation quality materials.

Yes!! What Lynn said.....that wood on the back will ruin a print.
And you may be very surprised at what the oil is worth!
Cleaning is not "restoring"....just conserving. and nothing you do the frame on the watercolor will do anything but enhance the value.
Lucky you!! They ae lovely!

Is it worth it? The answer to that is do you love them?

Replace the mat, sure, but do copy the shape. It adds a bit of special to it.

Even if you don't love the pictures, the increase in value by having them cared for properly is worth it even if you sell immediately. I think you will be surprised at the value placed on a Lucien Powell oil.

How interesting - so his full name was Lucien Whiting Powell, which might account for the canal scene signature that looks like 'L W Powell'.

Found some images of his signature - I think these are oils:

Was there a question there? Usually when you want assistance from strangers, politeness is a great help.

Hello folks, just wondering if anybody might recognize this signature. It is dated 1918. Thank you so much for any feedback. Jes C

That's a tough one! The writing might also include the location name. If you can figure out what that unusual church is, it might help you interpret the writing.

They are chalk...charcoal and pastels. I have no idea about the signature. I suspect they are just something "someone" did,

Okay, thank you for the feedback

If you can figure out the language it's written in, you could try Google translate.

Any interest in selling?